


miracle that i've been dreaming of

by mysticpendragon



Category: Cinderella (1950), Disney - All Media Types
Genre: Adventures, Aromantic Character, Aromantic asexual main character, Asexual Character, Asexual main character, Gen, I write for fun and purely for fun, Infrequent Updates, Male-Female Friendship, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Prince Charming is aroace, Wider DIsney Universe, aromantic main character, for now at least, not beta read or edited
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:07:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29732241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticpendragon/pseuds/mysticpendragon
Summary: You know how the story goes – Prince Charming holds a ball to find a bride. Prince Charming doesn't find a single girl that he likes until at last, he lays his eyes on Cinderella. The two share a dance until midnight strikes. She runs away, leaving only a glass slipper in her wake. He orders the guards to find her, and, once she proves that it was her who wore the slipper, they get married and live happily ever after.But what if Cinderella and Prince Charming weren't in love?What if Prince Charming was aromantic and asexual, and Cinderella was just a girl who wanted a fun night out? That changes the story radically, doesn't it? Perhaps Disney told the story right - but what if they didn't? What if one of the world's most iconic love stories was a lie? Because after all... not every happily ever after ends with a kiss.
Relationships: Cinderella & Prince Charming
Kudos: 1





	miracle that i've been dreaming of

**Author's Note:**

> It's the end of Aromantic Awareness Week 2021, but I wanted to write a story exploring my own experiences with being aromantic and asexual through the lens of Cinderella. Throughout my self-acceptance journey, this story played a unique role – especially through the Prince. He doesn't seem remotely attracted to anyone – until he sees Cinderella. Sure, it's Disney, and the true love at first sight trope can be adorable – but I wanted to play with the idea of the Prince being aroace and just picking Cinderella to say that he'd found someone for the sake of saying it. Obviously this fic won't depict a universal aro/ace experience, as being aromantic and/or asexual is different for everyone. But if even one person reads this fic and gains a better understanding and acceptance of themselves, then I have succeeded. Enjoy!

Prince Henry’s wide awake on the night before his wedding, relishing the last night he’ll get to spend in his bed alone. An unsettling feeling has taken root in his stomach. Tomorrow he is to be wed to Cinderella, the girl he’d met at the ball. At the first, the ruse had been easy to keep up. Show his disinterest in every girl that presented herself to him and hope that his father would give him more time to find a bride, until eventually, he found a way out. And then Cinderella walked in through the doors, looking lost and in awe of everything, and he found himself drawn to her, as if some kind of fairy magic was pulling him in. He found himself waltzing with her, and he found himself lost in her eyes. He sang some silly song about love, but he could see in her eyes that to her, he was nothing more than a handsome dance partner. And then she ran away from the ball at midnight before he could even confess that he was playing a long game of pretend, and he found himself in possession of nothing more than a glass slipper. He ordered a search of the kingdom – find the girl who’d worn the glass slipper. He wanted to marry her. And as the Grand Duke and his men rode out into the streets of Verreville, he sat back and prayed to the gods above that things would work out.

Why, do you ask, is he so invested in all this? The truth is, he’s known for a very long time that he’s not going to fall in love with anyone. At first, he thought he might be into men – but no matter how much he tried to keep his eyes on the knight his age assigned to his security detail or the neighbouring country’s prince, he felt the same way about them the way he felt about the long, long line of princesses and ladies sent his way. So now, he’s got to find a way to convince the world that he’s perfectly normal, because he knows that if he spills that little secret, that they’ll view him as a heartless monster.

Ella isn’t a bad partner; the two of them had hit it off once they reunited with another and found that they held quite a few common interests. She wants to learn swordfighting. He wants to learn how to cook. They teach each other when they can find the time between gown fittings and press appearances. Stolen moments in the kitchens after dark, baking pies together and sharing stories. Sunny, blistering days out on the castle grounds sparring and discussing technique. Late-night coffees in the informal living room, reading books and pretending that wedding bells won’t be ringing in a few weeks. But at the end of the day, that picture-perfect romance the world has painted of them is nothing more than a farce. Ella loves Henry as a friend. Henry loves Ella as a friend. Nothing more.

Someone knocks on the door before opening it. He’s relieved to find it’s only Ella and not someone else. Ella joins him on the bed, and he makes space for her.

“Isn’t it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?” Henry asks.

“Maybe. But I’ve had enough bad luck as it is, what’s a little more?”

“You ready for tomorrow?”

“Let’s go with that, sure.”

“You’ve got something on your mind.”

“You read me so well for someone I’ve known for what, five weeks?”

“I like to think I’m a good judge of character.”

Ella smiles bitterly. “I try to be, but it usually ends up with me getting taken advantage of.”

“Not here. Not ever. I won’t allow it.”

“Do you think they’ll accept me as their princess? As their _queen_?”

“They’ve got no other option.”

“And you don’t think they’re going to talk about Prince Henry of Verreville, the one who married down and all because of a shoe? What do you think you’re going to be called? Prince Foot Fetish?”

“Wouldn’t be the worst thing I’ve ever been called.”

“I guess… all these years of living with my stepmother… I always hoped that one day, she’d become kind, or at least that she’d die, and my stepsisters would leave the house. Then I’d reclaim my home. Happily ever after. I never imagined that _this_ would be what I ended up with. You. The entire royal thing. Burdens of the throne. Don’t get me wrong – this is preferable to my stepfamily, but… it’s a lot to take in.”

“You’ll get used to it. I’ll help you.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you sound smitten.”

Henry sighs. “I will never understand why a boy and a girl can’t be friends without people thinking they like each other.”

“Because it’s all they want to see.”

“Right.”

They stay there, laid out on the sheets of Henry’s bed, looking up at the ceiling above them. Henry wants to cherish these moments – the final moments of what little freedom he can grasp. It’s not _Ella_ he’s going to feel tied down to – it’s the marriage itself. Of what it represents, of what people will expect of him. He can pretend all he wants that he’s in love with Ella – and he can pull it off well – but what happens when his father starts expecting an heir? When all the other princes expect him to wax poetic about his lady and show up looking up at the balcony after a long trip, playing a song for her? When the royal gossips begin talking about how much of an adorable couple they make, of how her ascent from rags to riches is every girl’s dream?

He wants an escape.

He needs an escape.

He can be Prince Charming all he wants, but he can’t be the Prince Charming he knows they want.

“I don’t want to marry you tomorrow,” Ella says.

“The feeling is mutual.”

“What if we just… ran away. Saw the world together. I hear Agrabah is a sun-kissed daydream this time of the year.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice. Or maybe Arendelle. Kinda chilly, but they’ve got the best hot chocolate in all the realms.”

“Let’s do it,” she says, sitting up abruptly. “We get married tomorrow, we play the whole thing out, and then when it comes time for the honeymoon, we just get the hell out of here.”

“Where would we even go?”

“Does it even matter?”

“Yes! Planning is important.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure, Henry?”

“I just like having a set idea of exactly what’s going to happen.”

“Well then. Our honeymoon was to be a tour of the kingdom. How about we just run away on our wedding night? Maybe start with the Enchanted Forest. Find something new. Start a new story.”

“You’re serious?”

“Henry. I don’t want to be the princess. You don’t want to be a prince. So why not just run?”

It is tantalizing.

He lets himself give in.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

**Author's Note:**

> i am Playing with Prose wow!!!


End file.
